will congress get it together in time? no talks that we know of are imminent. it was by at least one measure, the weakest holiday retail sales growth since the financial crisis back in 2008, but could a post-christmas holiday sales bounce be around the corner? >>> and what a year it has been for tech. gadgets and gizmos. apple, facebook, microsoft all have big news. will 2013 be a lucky year for the sector? which tech titans might lead the new trends? simon hobbs is in at the new york stock exchange. >> good afternoon. when president obama arrives back in d.c., can he prevent america falling over the fiscal cliff? house republicans haven't yet called their members back to washington. our chief political correspondent, john harwood, is with us. john, this feels very much like it might be the calm before the storm in more way than one. >> it could be if we go over the cliff and the storm would be generated by the markets and the loss of confidence in american governance and the american economy, but that's not necessarily going to be the case. we still have a few